This application pertains to the art of mounting brackets and, more particularly, to mounting brackets for mounting electrical outlet and switch boxes or the like in wall openings.
For old work as when upgrading electrical wiring in an existing building, it is necessary to mount electrical outlet and switch boxes in wall openings and the box must be secured to the wall which is often of plaster and will not hold screws firmly, particularly adjacent the wall opening which receives the box.
Many arrangements have been proposed and adopted for mounting electrical boxes in wall openings. U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,415 issued June 8, 1937, to Wood discloses an arrangement wherein deformable mounting brackets are attached to an electrical box by separate screws 9. This makes manufacture and assembly of the entire device relatively expensive due to the need for the additional screw and attachment of same to the box. In addition, devices of the type disclosed by Wood essentially make line contact with the back corner of a plaster wall adjacent the opening which receives the box and the wall tends to crumble in that area. U.S. Pat. No. 2,491,742 to Lein discloses another arrangement wherein a separate screw or a mounting clip is required to attach the deformable bracket to the box. In the arrangement of Lein, the deformable bracket is not firmly held against rotation unless screws are used for holding the bracket to the box. U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,149 issued Nov. 5, 1957, to Appleton discloses another arrangement wherein deformable brackets are held to the box by the resilient action of the bracket. With an arrangement of this type, it is possible to displace the box from the mounting brackets. Also, the deformable brackets engage the wall adjacent the corners of the opening where the wall may crumble. U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,416 issued Oct. 13, 1959, to Rudolph et al discloses another arrangement wherein the same screw which holds the deformable bracket to the box is also used for deforming the deformable bracket. This is a very desirable arrangement. The deformable portion of the Rudolph mounting bracket is deformed in such a manner that essentially line contact is made between the bracket and the corner of the wall opening. In addition, the arrangement of Rudolph and others requires separate plate portions on the box for engaging the exterior of the wall adjacent the opening therein. U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,144 issued Oct. 19, 1971, to Hodges discloses another mounting bracket which also requires a separate flange on the device being mounted for engaging the exterior of the wall around the opening. In addition, the bracket of Hodges deforms in such a manner that essentially line contact is made with the back corner of a wall.